A lawyer was allegedly shoved to the ground by a Houses of Parliament contractor, causing him to hit his head on paving stones leaving it swollen and "black all over", a court has heard.

Ronald Freeman, from Borehamwood, is accused of attacking Peter Brooksbank outside the Sports and Social Bar within the grounds of the House of Commons in London on December 5 last year.

The 57-year-old, an engineer contractor who has worked in Parliament for 11 years, denies one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, describing the alleged incident, Mr Brooksbank said he remembers the defendant running towards him with great speed.

"I tried to reach the door and next thing I know I was shoved from behind and I just went forwards," he told the court.

"I have a vague recollection of hitting the ground, my head hit the ground, it was just paving stones so was not the most comfortable thing to hit.

"Next thing I know is I was being lifted to my feet by one or two police officers, I do not know how much time had passed."

Mr Brooksbank said he was treated by a paramedic and taken to Guys and St Thomas hospital where he received medical treatment, including between 12-20 stitches to his head.

He said the next morning he looked in the mirror and was "horrified to find" that his face was "black all over" and swollen.

Borehamwood Times:

Peter Brooksbank leaves Southwark Crown Court. Photo: PA

The court heard Mr Brooksbank was a regular at the bar and had arrived after 4pm where he had already consumed around three pints of Guinness before the incident.

At around 6pm Mr Brooksbank had gone out for a cigarette - which is when the first encounter with the accused occurred.

Opening the prosecution's case Ollie Wellings said Freeman "repeatedly asked" why Mr Brooksbank was sitting on the steps, causing the alleged victim to become annoyed.

In another "fractious" encounter inside the bar, Mr Wellings said it resulted in Freeman yanking the Parliamentary pass off the neck of Mr Brooksbank, before he took it to another part of the building.

Mr Brooksbank followed the defendant and retrieved his pass before exiting the room, and that he was then allegedly assaulted in an alleyway, the court heard.

During cross examination from Charlie Falk, defending, Mr Brooksbank said he would regularly drink, on average, eight pints of Guinness when he visited the bar, but denied having an alcohol problem.

Mr Falk asked Mr Brooksbank if he was aware people refer to him in Parliament as "Lord Haw Haw" and that he is accused of calling Freeman a "peasant" during the incident.

Mr Brooksbank denied using the phrase and said he gets on with "people of all grades and statuses", adding he "does not have a superior attitude towards any of them".

During questioning from Mr Falk, Mr Brooksbank said he "didn't like people touching him" when it was suggested that Freeman had placed his hand on his arm to check if he was okay both on the steps outside and in the bar.

Mr Brooksbank also rejected the suggestion that he followed Freeman into the restricted engineers' control room, "repeatedly trumpeting" down the corridor "don't you know who I am, I'm a QC don't you know".

Showing pictures to the court and jury of a large bruise on the right side of Freeman's face, Mr Falk asked Mr Brooksbank to explain that and the graze on the knuckles of his right hand.

Mr Brooksbank said that Freeman may have "resisted arrest" and stressed that he was "unconscious" at the time.

During cross-examination Mr Falk said to Mr Brooksbank: "The truth is when he caught up with you, without word, you turned around and punched him in the right eye."

Mr Brooksbank told the court it was a lie and he had never punched anyone in his life.

Mr Falk said Freeman was caught "completely by surprise" by his actions, and grabbed hold of Mr Brooksbank to steady himself, resulting in both of them falling to the ground.

Mr Falk said: "That is what caused your head to strike the stone floor."

Giving evidence, Karen Hodsden, a parliamentary reception manager, said she witnessed Freeman touch Mr Brooksbank on the neck in an "annoying" way in the smoking area outside the bar.

Cross-examined by Mr Falk, she was asked to read her police statement, which said Freeman touched Mr Brooksbank on the arm instead.

Ms Hodsden, who has known Mr Brooksbank for eight years, said she had spoken to him before she gave her statement and told him she was in his corner.

Mr Falk suggested to the court that Ms Hodsden did not want to make Mr Brooksbank look bad in "the eye of the police" by intentionally leaving out swear words from her statement, which she said she agreed with.

Ms Hodsden revealed she had spoken to another witness before giving evidence, and knew they were giving theirs in the next day's proceedings, but under intense questioning by Mr Falk admitted she was actually told by a police officer in Parliament.

Mr Falk asked her why she lied to the court and whether she knew what perjury was, adding: "You just said to this court you had spoken to him... but actually you have lied and have not."

Walking out of the court, Ms Hodsden could be heard saying, "well, that was traumatic".

Freeman is on bail.

The trial is expected to last for five days and continues at the same court.